Monday, 30 June 2014

Happy Monday internet! Okay I take that back, who ever thinks 'Great, it's Monday, that makes me so happy!'?! If you ever think that then what on earth is wrong with you? Get off this planet you weird Monday lover.

So it's official, I am now back living at home with my famalam. The good news is there is food, cleanliness, fast internet, mold free air and a big TV. The bad news is I currently have no bedroom as it is under construction so I am living out of various rooms in the house including the garage. OH and my little brother (who has a full time job in the city) actually made a comment at ME about my current lack of full time graduate job. Seriously. Leave a girl to eat her cereal in her pyjamas on the sofa in peace PERLEASE. And since when was it okay for my little brother to make 'hah you're unemployed' comments at his big graduate sister?! As you can tell I have taken the move home really really really well......get me back to uni.....and I haven't even started my summer work shoveling dog poop yet....

It's quite an unusual feeling not really knowing where you are going. Right now I feel like I am having a summer holiday as per usual and will be heading back for term time in September. I stop and think 'Crap...I have the rest of my life in front of me'. I then started to think about Bridget Jones (purely because she is my spirit animal, obviously) and started to see a lot of similarities. I mean, I even have similar pyjamas to her so that really says it all. All these deep thoughts about where I was heading, would I be happy, will I be okay, will I actually accomplish my dreams got me thinking about my blog. I mean lets face it, it has been 80% student life and 20% everything else. Now I have no student life where is that 80% going to come from? I then read a couple of blog posts from other bloggers about their battle with being stuck in blogging ruts and it scared me. It genuinely scared me. I love blogging. I think it is the best thing that ever happened to me. My little pimped out crazy lady corner of the internet is my refuge. When I blog I switch off from reality for a little while and it's really nice. It brings out this beautiful confident side to me I didn't know I had. It gives me purpose, direction and comfort. To loose all of that would be a terrible crime.

Right now it is impossible to think I will loose my blogging mojo. I look forward to blogging so much and everyday I find inspiration from everything and everyone. However I am aware that this summer will be a tough one, back working in the kennels and the battle with the job market will beat me down. Now I know if anything that the past 12 months have taught me if I can get through them I can get through anything. I am excited for the new direction my blog is going to take with me but I also know I may end up losing my drive. If that happens please could you reach out of the screen and bitch slap me back into the internet. No pressure or anything but this is all on you....

Okay I am just kidding. Lets face it, those who have come to follow and love my blog are aware I am an absolute mental headcase and are aware of the real bonkers situations I put myself in/get into/fall into. So I am guessing this summer will be no different in pursuing professional crazy lady/ Drama Queen status. And maybe with that thought it really is time to let myself get lost. Everything has been so structured my entire life that this really is the first time I have no set path to follow. Wish me look bloggers, I hope even when I am lost I don't lose my blogging self....

Friday, 27 June 2014

First of all, have you heard the news?? I mean if you haven't then where have you been?! So it turns out that that dissertation I handed in, you know the one that I freaked out about for 12 months, cried about it, blogged about it a hundred times and my degree rested upon it, yes that one....well....I GOT A FIRST! Y'know what else?.....I AM OFFICIALLY GRADUATING WITH A 2:1!!!

I have also managed to get myself some paid marketing work experience over summer that will involve blogging activities.

All in all, this past week has been an incredible fairytale for me. Not to brag but...I'm kind of a big deal right now.

And so here we are. The final chapter of my student life. I have spent the week saying goodbye to all my favourite people in York and I am packed to leave today. I can honestly say graduating is one of the worst bitter sweet feelings I have ever endured. I don't want to leave university. There is so much I am going to miss. I've explained it all here so that's my experience. This post is my final words to you future students or current students.

Give it all you've got

If you come to university expecting endless parties, days spent hanging and living on your sofa with a pizza box permanently attached to your hand then university is the wrong place for you. Not to sounds like a party pooper, yes you will be getting drunk, having wild nights and doing some crazy ass things but that is not why you are there. Every day counts, so make it worth it and go the distance.

Don't be the stereotype

Kind of overlapping from the last point, don't be the stereotype that is expected of students. I hate it when people assume I am lazy, waste all my money on alcohol, spend all day in bed etc. I library'd 8-4 every day, I spent most nights in with my housemates, I spent any days off shopping, being creative and exploring, I was always weeks ahead with my reading and I started my deadlines months in advance. I never did all nighters, I never left anything to the last minute, I didn't go out regularly, I never stayed in bed, I never 'winged' it. I can honestly say I had the best time at university and I do not regret a single day. Don't be what is expected of you. Do what you want to do and what you need to do to get where you want to be. It will all pay off eventually.

Define yourself

University is the chance to find yourself. It took my three years but I did it. I found what I loved and I gave it all I got. I, as my housemate keeps telling me, have 'blossomed'. I finally know what I want to do with my life and what I need to do to get there. Discovering this is an incredible feeling and I only hope it lasts and that I don't get lost on the way....which lets face it, with me, it's inevitable...

Never give up

This has to be the most important. Never ever ever ever give up. I will be honest in saying I nearly did. I nearly walked away. I nearly called my parents and said I can't do it anymore. It wasn't worth the heartache, the tears, the sleepless nights, the anxiety and the depression. What a stupid stupid thing to think. This year for me has been so so so tough and I pulled it off. I kicked all the crappy darkness in the face and told it to shove it. I got there. I got a first in my dissertation when every inch of my body was telling me to stop trying. I am graduating with a 2:1 when every thought told me there was no point. Never. Ever. Give up. You are worth more then you will know.

Thank the losers

Okay let's be honest, every third person you meet at university is an asshole/psycho. Do not let them stand in your way. If I had a penny for every arsehole that was horrible to me at uni I could probably fund my way to a postgrad course. But as I have said in previous posts, I am grateful they did it. They were my drive. I wanted to do better then them, not just in academic work but in life, and I sure as hell did. I had the best 3 years with the greatest of relationships with friends and academics alike. I smiled as they watched on enviously of my happiness. You know what they say, the best kind of revenge is living life well

Be unique

Another overlap, just because the losers beat you down for being who you are does not mean you should change. My uniqueness in my interests and passions lead me to routes no one had gone down which in return lead to my success. In other words, If I wasn't such a Twitter addict I wouldn't have a bloody good dissertation, a career path and this blog. Stick to your guns and go out blazing.

And so I leave you with that. From now on all student related talk will be when I work on studentlifeblog.co.uk. Moving out is so painful I am not sure I can quite take it. There have been times when I hated university and I quickly learned it wasn't what I thought it was. I could not do it again but I am glad that I did it. I have made the best friends, had the most incredible opportunities and it really changed my life for the better. It is heartbreaking to know that this time I leave I really am not coming back. This is the last blog post in the place where it all began. My dissertation supervisor has suggested I come back and do a masters next year or the year after. I don't think I should put him, you guys, my blog, my parents or myself through the truama all over again...I mean, there only so much 'oh my god my degree has gone tits up' blog posts the internet can take ;)

Sunday, 22 June 2014

Oh hey there. Thanks for falling all over my blog. I truly have time for that. I appreciate that. I love that. I love you. Did I just make you feel uncomfortable? Good.

Now before I proceed onto the usual jibber jabber and rub my blog all up in your grill I had to let you all know a great tragedy has happened. I switched off G+ plus comments on my blog because it was doing my head in every time I shared on G+ it spammed my comments. In doing so I lost ALL my comments on my blog. Every single one of them. I am really quite devastated about this because over time I have built up a few friends who regularly leave supportive comments and it makes me so sad they have been all washed away with Google plus's crap ability to be a functioning site. GOOD ONE GOOGLE, and you wonder why Facebook is still kicking your ass in the social networking leagues (Yehuh I hope that comment stung). Well at least I wont be spamming myself anymore. Silver linings. Swings and roundabouts. *insert relevant metaphor here*

Now moving onto the main event. I have been blogging for 13 months now. Can you believe that? My life has changed so much for the better since I started blogging and I have you to thank for that. There are so many amazing blogs out there that inspire me every. single. day. That is a lot of inspiration I am telling you. From beauty to fashion to celebrity gossip to lifestyle to batshit crazy, there are so many incredible blogs out there and I just wanna throw myself into that big blogging pool and role around in it, soaking up all the inspiration. So round of applause for you all *claps hands*

I realise it is rather selfish of me for taking all that inspiration and not giving it back. I'm a taker and I am sorry. So now it is time to give back. I wanted to go a blogger favourites thing to point out some of my favourite blogs. I might make this a regular thing to put more of a spotlight on the wonderful people of the internet. So enjoy the list and let me know if you have any faves!

1. Milk Bubble Tea

I fell in love with Becky's blog within the first 10 seconds of being on it. Everything from the design to her photography to her gorgeous doggy Oscar. There is something about all of those little things that create this peaceful soothing feeling whilst I am on her blog. I look forward to every new post. So check her out!

I met maria when I signed up to social blogging site Glipho and what a good job I did! I love Maria and her many blogs as she's so funny, creative and has an incredible sense of fashion. However my faverouite blog of hers has to be her celebrity one 'Too Sassy For You'. Who needs trashy showbiz sites such as the Daily Mail or Perez Hilton when Maria is on the ball updating us with the world of Hollywood and in a tasteful way. I especially enjoy her 'Best and Worst Dressed' features after major red carpet events.

I have left you her bloglovin link so you can see all her different blogs. Go ahead and check them out:

Lisa is by far one of the best blogger friends a girl could wish for! She is so faithful, kind and supportive on every little blogging adventure I post. Her blog is so beautiful with all her jewellery styles and beauty adventures.

Oh my gosh this woman is a woman after my own heart. I find Kat so relateable and every blog post has me crying in laughter. If you ever need a pick me up I 100% recommend heading over for a giggle. My fave posts are her Humpday Confessions every Wednesday plus with the chance to get involved every week, what is not to love?!

Becky and her blog are so sweet. I love her beauty posts, her photography and her adorable horse. Being terrified of horses myself I prefer to view them from a distance and therefore her blog is the perfect insight. Becky also has a wonderful and friendly personality that shines through her posts. Funnily enough this morning she asked me to do a guest post on her blog which I am very honoured to do so stay tuned for that!

One of my favourite fashion bloggers has to be Emma. She looks flawless in every outfit and her photos are so pretty. I also get continuous hair envy at every post. Like seriously, Emma your hair is so effortlessly amazing.

Where to begin with such a beautiful soul. There are not enough people on this planet like The Always Believer. She makes it her mission to spread support, inspiration, hope and love. Always leaving such beautiful comments on everything I can always rely on her for kindness!

So there we have it, a few of my favourite bloggers. There are so many out there I had to stop myself. I might do these posts every couple of months from now on to keep the flow going on all your bloggy goodness. If you have any favourite bloggers let me know and leave your own links in the comments box, I am forever on the hunt for more bloggers to love/obsess over/stalk/creep out. Okay I promise to stop sounds like the ultimate internet creep.

Thursday, 19 June 2014

Well hello there my lovelies! I hope all is well in the bloggingsphere. I have been looking forward to writing this post for months! It felt like this day would never arrive. Remember when I won the Fanny Crown monthly blogging contest and I won a tailor made evening gown? No? Well where on earth have you been?! You can read it here.

Yesterday the time finally came for me to wear my beautiful dress. It has been hanging in my bedroom for a month and I've been desperate to wear it. I'm not going to lie, there have been a couple of days when I was home alone and I sneakily put the dress on to twirl around my room. Shhh I wont tell anyone of you wont....she says to the entire internet....

I want to dedicate this post to the wonderful wonderful wonderful people at Fanny Crown. Without them I wouldn't have looked like a true princess and they made my day ever so special! Yesterday was my graduation dinner and ball. Champagne reception was held on our beautiful university campus and the dinner and ball was held at York racecourse. It was the last chance to see so many of my friends at university all together before we all part ways. What better way to say goodbye then to dress up and dance? I had such a lovely day and evening that I woke up smiling this morning. The weather was perfect and everyone looked beautiful. I couldn't have asked for a better day to celebrate the end of my degree with my friends.

The dress fit beautifully and felt incredible. The detail and care put into making my dress is so easy to see just from looking at it. It is so special and unique I just wish I could wear it every day! (I kindly informed my housemates at the end of the ball to expect to see a lot more of me in the dress around the house from now on). I will admit I was worried I would be too hot with all the layers of fabric however the skirt flowed so elegantly I glided around with such ease. I spent a lot of the night twirling and telling all I felt like a cross between a Disney princess and Taylor Swift. I really don't think there are enough words in the world that would express my gratitude to Fanny Crown for giving me such a beautiful dress. From the moment I had won the dress they took great care in assuring everything was right. I had difficulty matching up my sizes to which they quickly responded with the offer to tailor make it for me. How many people can say they have had a Parisian evening gown tailor made for them?! Dream. Come. True.

I will admit that I got such a thrill when someone would come up to me and ask where I got my dress from. I had so many compliments and my housemate even overheard someone in the toilet pointing at my dress and saying how much they liked it. Well I am a stunner after all ;) Honestly when I make it big and I am required to attend so many red carpet events (Or Leonardo DiCaprio realises I am the love of his life and wants me on his arm at the Oscars) I am definitely going to be using Fanny Crown!

I simply have to boast about the intricate detailing of the dress. The lace bodice fit so beautifully, hugging my body and giving a flattering shape. Each jewel and flower had been stitched on so delicately and created the perfect finish to an elegant gown. Oh and remember how I fell in love with the back in my blog entry? Well I was all about flaunting it. The lace V merges with the base fabric so sweetly it made the back just as stunning as the front.

I would like to thank the team over at Fanny Crown for this opportunity, Amy for being helpful and supportive through the entire process from the blog post to receiving the dress and lastly to the dress makers who did an incredible job creating the perfect dress. There are no words to describe how much I would recommend Fanny Crown and if you're feeling creative then you should definitely have ago at their blogging competition where you too can become a princess!

Thank you Fanny Crown for giving me the perfect fairytale day!

I hope you enjoyed reading this post as much as I did writing it! Now it's time to get up, put the dress back on and do some laundry ;) Like I said....I'm wearing it forever.

Saturday, 14 June 2014

Honey I'm home! Have you missed me?...Did you even notice I was gone?...Don't answer that.

I do apologize for my long absence but at the same time I don't. I've been on holiday getting some much needed TLC and escaping from reality. I have spent the past week away in a lovely place called Center Parcs at Sherwood Forest. For those of you outside the UK, Center Parcs is a holiday resort based within forests across the UK. You stay in a beautiful woodland lodge in the middle of a forest and spend the week doing whatever you like from cycling everywhere to swimming to tree trekking to spending an afternoon in the spa!

I have been holidaying in Center Parcs since 1996 which makes me feel SO old. It's so interesting to see how much it has changed but yet still remains the same. I hold so many great memories there and spent the whole week pointing out to my housemates 'That's where I fell off my bike because I forgot to use my breaks when I was 4!' or 'That's where I got chased by 13 hungry geese!'. Without sounding too cheesy, there is something for everyone. Me and my housemates had a brilliant week taking advantage of the sunny weather but doing all sorts of activities from pedalos to badminton to even a spot of bird watching.

The beauty of Center Parcs is the ability to get completely lost in the forest for a week. And I mean literally lost. All trees look the same so you do end up going round in circles. After being stuck in the same mindset for so long and feeling quite defeated, Center Parcs was the break all four of us needed. It was the best way to end our degrees. Barely any internet connection meant little contact with the outside world and only the odd phone call/text was sent to let our parents know we were still alive/hadn't killed ourselves with our bikes. I came home feeling I had been away for weeks with no knowledge of life on the outside. I recommend it heavily to everyone. Seriously, ask yourself when was the last time you switched your iPhone off and spent a week away from Twitter or Facebook?

I want to brag to you all how proud I am of myself. Center Parcs is a great place to conquer your fears. I have many many many many many many many many (you get my point?) fears. From dark closed spaces to heights to fast rides. I use to nickname myself 'Chucky from Rugrats' because he too is afraid of everything. Each day I challenged myself in a new fear. The first day I went down their huge water raft slide. My poor housemates had to endure my screaming the ENTIRE way down. Needless to say I was begging to do it again at the end...

The second day I did 'tree trekking' where you complete an obstacle course that gets higher and higher in the trees until you reach the top and face a zip wire. Nothing says living like zip wiring through a pine forest!

There is the opportunity to tackle what scares you the most at Center Parcs so wahey for that.

Oh and one more thing, you cannot class yourself as British until you've BBQ'd in the rain. Proud moment right there!

So there is a little snippet of my week in Center Parcs. It was definitely the break we all needed after a challenging year. It is definitely the worst feeling coming home knowing we only have 2 weeks left living with each other before we all part ways on the next chapter of our lives. As bleak as this will sound, it doesn't feel like I have a lot to look forward to. Moving back home with no graduate job and I get my results and degree classification in a weeks time is so so so not what I want to face.

Get me back to the forest!!!

However I will be back to full time blogging, great news for you guys!I mean, you're seriously missing me when I am away right?! I am also spoiling you with additional Center Parcs photos on Instagram if you would like to see more. Click here!

Thursday, 5 June 2014

Well hey their sweet bloggers. I hope you're enjoying my slow return to regular blogging. From degree life to slob/unemployment life, I have lots of time for you all. I hope you're fully appreciating this ;)

So the gang over at Webucator, an online learning community, dropped me an email and asked if I would like to write a post on my most marketable skill to employers. Currently facing the job market this was quite a good one for me to tackle. It really got me thinking about what I have to bring to the table. I mean apart from being totally amazing.

First things first, I want to point out that everybody is different. I believe for success to happen you need a team of diversity. Everybody has different strengths and therefore you cannot assume that what I think makes success is what will always work. For all we know and with my current unemployed status kinda backing this up, I could be wrong. Secondly, I am taking a different approach to just focusing on me. I want to do a whole 'we're all in this together' cause y'know, I'm kind of a nice person like that.

So first things first, what's YOUR most marketable skill? I had to ask my housemates what they thought mine was because I had too many to choose from. As highlighted earlier, I am just totally amazing. I'm a kick ass cook, brilliant Beyonce impersonator and all round absolute nut job. So as you can see I had a hard time deciding from my best qualities. After short debate my housemates insisted I was creative. I agree. I have a creative flair that beams through my thoughts, hobbies and personality.

Whatcha gonna do with all that skill? All that skill inside yo grill!

Well first things first, you're gonna believe in it. No actually first things first is you're going to ignore my sad attempt at rapping. Well, so you're feisty? You're driven? You're an extrovert? You're a thinker? Don't let anyone cause you to doubt that. Take your skill and shove it all up in everyone else's grill (I'm sorry I just have skill and grill in my head and feel the need to consistently act so G I'm almost H).

I've always had a creative spark, from music to art to textiles, I much preferred to immerse myself into those areas than maths or science. It takes a lot of confidence and self belief to say 'Hey, I'm good at this and I want the world to know'. Hell it's even taken me up until university to finally throw myself and my skill up in your grills. I soon realised I had a flair in blogging and that really has come in strides. It makes me so proud of myself and I am happy to declare the world 'Guess what, I am creative or in business terms, innovative!'

Shine like a firework all over everybody else's town

We've gone from gangster talk to cheesy belief. It's all good in the hood (nope the gangster talk just fell through again). When you have a skill that you know is your strength that's great but how are you gonna prove it? For example, me being the creative or innovative bunny that I am I turned to blogging. I've highlighted this to so many people, friends and business minds alike and they love it. My favourite thing about blogging is there is no right or wrong. No rules and no guidelines. If you wanna blog about your favourite things then you blog about that, if you wanna blog about your daily disasters then you blog about that and if you want to blog about your freakish obsession with cats and your journey to becoming a crazy cat lady then hell, you do that! When demonstrating your best skill to employers, you need to show them how. I drop my blog into everything in order to demonstrate it. Not only are you providing a good example of your talent but it's also showing how you've achieved something on your own time.

Make it relevant

'So I hear you have this kick ass marketable skill, well what's that to me?' I hear you say. Well I'm glad you inquired sir. This is probably mostly relevant to cover letters and interviews. Owning a kick ass skill is one thing but you have to demonstrate how it links to the role you're seeking. For example my creative experiences in blogging, participating in studentlifeblog.co.uk and running various social media accounts shows my creative flair, my efficiency and my ability to harness my skill in an organised and innovative sense. Let's use Batman as another example. Yeah he has a flashy belt with lots of gadgets, a big car crushing Batmobile and an elephant load of strength but what good is that to Gotham city or to Jim Gordon when applying for the job of vigilante? Batman utilizes his resources and skills by jumping off skyscrapers to get the bad guys. No skyscraper is too tall for Batman. He has therefore proven to Gotham that he is worthy of the job role. You see my point?

The most important message to take home from this post is that you too can be gangster Batman. Okay okay I'm just kidding. In all seriousness, once you've recognized your strengths you need self belief and the drive to do something with it. Sitting and watching the world go by isn't going to prove anything. Getting up and overlapping the world will. Yes you're gonna face some rejections and yes you'll probably resort to carbs and Ben & Jerry to heal the pain but see it as a learning curve. Every rejection I get I just see it as their loss. Seriously, you ignore my application? Well wont you be the sorry one because one day, the company I will be working for will be outdoing your company purely because I am there rubbing my creative skill all up in your grill.

Maybe I should have placed a warning hazard at the start of this post stating this will cause more career disasters then success....

Monday, 2 June 2014

Greeting blogsters, I'm here to to treat you to a good old ramble. I know my previous ramblings have been so very much enjoyed that I had to do another( Part 1, Part 2). This one is particularly special because it will be my last ever ramble about student life. In order to mark the occasion this entire piece will be the frustrated ramblings of student life. Oh aren't you the lucky ones! Never say I don't treat you!

Ramble 1: Idiot Culture

So I came to the conclusion that university is full of idiots. If you thought heading to uni meant you'd be immersing yourself into an environment of maturity and intelligence, well aren't you the silly one for thinking such thoughts. It appears that many depict the maturity and behavior of the apes and therefore you will spend three years of your degree slowly watching others regress and question your self on whether you're actually going backwards in time instead of forwards. Signs of those belonging to idiot culture are:

Acting as though one is featuring in 'Made In Chelsea' by pretending to be a campus celebrity or as the student lingo goes 'Big Name On Campus'(Also known as BNOC)

Dressing like a tool - you can expect the standard beige chinos and navy blue Ralph Lauren sweater with a sky blue shirt for boys or for girls it tends to be bare minimum clothing and dressing like you've walked off the catwalk when really you are just heading to the library

Pouting for the club camera - and no, I am not referring to the girls

Thinking you earn cool points by leaving large deadlines to the last minute to impress idiot culture girls

Referring to oneself as 'Nouveau riche' meaning 'old money'. It was at that point I decided I didn't want to live in on this planet anymore. If you need me you'll find me on Mars.

Ramble 2: Proving Sanity

Everyone at university is insane. I will be surprised if you make three years of a degree without thinking those words. Over three years I have lived with the biggest psychos of them all. It got to the point where I actually felt they were living in my walls. It takes a lot of crazy for someone to think that. I often question whether i'm the normal one or if all the insanity is normal and I'm the weird one for not being completely off my rocker? Ill let you decide...

Ramble 3: Sods bloody law

I find myself talking very bitterly these days about university. I love it and I hate it. For me the biggest frustration this year was the inequality and unfair advantage. I spend 8 hours a day everyday in the library working my ass off. This work rarely pays off in terms of high grades. Yet my peers will rarely commit to full days in the library and enjoy the leisurely life of bed and hangovers. Yet they are the ones coming out with higher grades with the added bonus of their work being practically written for them by their supervisors. What the hell is with that?!

Ramble 4: Mean Girls

My high school was the cliquiest place you could get. Full of arseholes and hierarchy, it was like living in Mean Girls. College was absolutely fine and no hierarchy of such existed. Most likely due to high levels of maturity. So naturally you'd expect university to be the same. What. A. Joke. My course was so full of cliques I began to think I'd stepped out of bed in the morning and slipped back into 2004 at high school. There were far too many 'You can't sit with us' moments. It's fine, I liked sitting by myself anyway...

Ramble 5: Unem-mother-fudging-ployment

All raise your hands if you're sick of me spending 6 months moaning about my lack of graduate job? Yehuh me to. I am still unemployed. I have concluded that I will be unemployed forever. I really am turning into Bridget Jones as we speak. Oh but lets not forget how I will be spending my entire summer earning minimum wage shovelling dog poop now shall we. Now who said racking up debt for a degree wasn't completely worth it? On the plus note I can sit applying for jobs in my underwear/PJs/Totally naked and no one can say or do anything about it. No boob jail for Laura!

I hope you enjoyed that ramble. It was nice for me to get my troubles off my chest and have a minor distraction from fighting further unemployment. Seriously, I feel like I'm selling myself so cheaply in cover letters and applications. Shameful. Absolutely shameful. So if you would like to rescue me from unemployment, please feel free to do so. Or if you need a ramble and to get stuff off your chest, please do inform me as I'd love to ramble away with you.